Gamble Me Oro
by Chibi Binasu-chan
Summary: Sano is determined to make Kenshin a real man. Which means no more Oro's. But when his good intentions go bad, he tries to turn Kenshin back to normal. Will it work? - VERY OLD! Kept up for sentimental reasons only! -
1. Be A Man!

**_Gamble-Me-Oro_**

_This story is dedicated to my best friend and pretty much adopted big sister: Female Hitokiri Battousai for her birthday. She is a coolio person and writes spectacular! She has helped me so much and she is a great friend; for that, I love her. Happy birthday, Sta-chan!_

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_**Prologue**_

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"Calm down, Kaoru. You're overreacting! I'm sure Ken-san isn't doing anything like that," Megumi tried to reassure her hysterically sobbing friend. "He and the Rooster Head are probably just gambling or drinking or something stupid." 

Kaoru shook her head ferociously, "No! I'm telling you the truth. I saw him with another woman! Maybe. . . h-he. . . doesn't love me after all!" Such a thought reduced the weeping eighteen year old girl into bursts of sobs that sounded almost like hiccups. She threw herself into Megumi's arms and soaked the doctor's uniform.

Megumi sighed heavily with annoyance. "There. . . there. . ." she patted Kaoru's back for fake extra support. She frowned, _Ken-san, what in the world are you doing?_

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_**Chapter One**_

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"I WIN!" she cried with a masculine voice. The men at the table glanced around at each other suspiciously as the girl collected her huge amount of money. "What do ya think of that, Kenshin?" 

"That is a lot of money, that it is," I muttered, uneasily watching the other men; who were beginning to get angry. "But don't you think we should leave now?" I began to get up when I was suddenly yanked back down to the floor. "Oro. . ."

"No way, Kenshin!" the girl growled angrily in the deep of her throat. "I am _not _going to loose my winning streak just because of you! You always do this! I can't believe you Kenshin! You're so whiny and wimpy! Stand up and be a man for once, and do a few tosses!" The men and I were beginning to slowly slide away. . .

"Excuse me, Miss, but you're disturbing the rest of our customers," a polite waitress informed her.

The girl grinned, "Hey, what shakin' baby?"

Her eyes went wide, "Excuse me?"

"Ahahahah," I chuckled weakly. "Please excuse my friend, we're going to leave now, that we are. . ." – "Stop it, Kenshin! Lemme go!" – "Don't mind us! Go about your business! Sorry to disturb you. . ." I quickly dragged the girl out the door, whom was frantically trying to stuff the money down her kimono. It was hard to restrain a sigh as soon as we stepped out into the night air.

"KENSHIN!" the girl screamed, not quite sounding girly. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I was on a winning streak!" she hissed.

I frowned at her sternly, "Cross-dressing as a girl, cheating while gambling and hitting on waitresses is not a winning streak." I put my arms inside my gi and turned to walk home. "Now, let us return before it is too late. Kaoru-dono would not agree with this; and you know that very well, Sano."

"Feh," Sanosuke muttered, pulling off his wig. "You're such a teacher's pet, Kenshin! Why can't you live a little?" he continued his grumbling, wiping off his make-up, "Someday I'm going to make you a man. . ."

_I'm sure you will, Sano, _I thought dryly. _Why did I agree with this little scam? And why did Sano think that dressing up as a girl would make other men go easy on him? . . . And why did it work?_

"Tomorrow you should go repay Tae-dono the debt you owe her," I continued in a fatherly way. "You have more than enough, Sano," I added, when Sanosuke muttered something about wanting to buy his stuff. "Sessha sincerely hopes that you won't gamble any more, that he most certainly does." I smiled then as I turned to look at my best friend, "Now lets go to our homes."

Sanosuke glared at me, "I can't believe you. What kind of a man doesn't want to gamble? What kind of a man actually wants to pay off his debts? I'll never understand you, Kenshin." I laughed weakly. "Someday, though, I'm going to make you a real man. I just don't know how yet. . ." he pondered several ideas as they walked along.

Soon, Sanosuke trotted off to his home just a bit happier than he had been a few minutes before, and I continued on my own to the Kamiya Dojo. _Kaoru-dono will be so upset! Why did Sano talk me into going with him? Gambling is a horrible sport which steals someone of their money and gives others that which they do not deserve, simply because they were lucky. _

"Is that him?"

"Yep, that's the one! Now, quietly. . ."

I frowned as I heard whispers all around me. All at once, there were three-no four hostile ki's! I continued walking, as if I hadn't heard anyone. One of the ki's were coming closer. My hand hovered over the hilt of my sakabatou. The three other ki's were coming in from all directions. I took my chance, and ran.

"KYAA!" one of them came out with an overhead strike. It was too easy to dodge. The attacker went down quickly.

"What is it that you want from me?" I asked the other three men in a deep voice, tired of this child play.

"No questions, Battousai!" yelled one. He smirked at the twitch I couldn't stop. "Yeah, we know who you are! Yer that monster, the Hitokiri Battousai! Yer nothin' but a merciless killer who found a sword!" he took a look at my sakabatou and spat. "If that _is_ a sword. Now fight me!"

I closed my eyes. "If I have killed one of your loved ones, I am deeply sorry, and offer you my true apology," I looked up at the man. "But I will not fight you. There is nothing I can do now except atone for my sins I committed in the past." I continued walking. The men followed me. "Why is it that you follow me?" _I cannot lead them to the Kamiya Dojo. . ._

The men grinned, "You must fight us, even if we stand no chance to you. You must fight us."

"Nothing I say will allow me to pass?" I asked. The men shook their heads. I frowned and sighed, "Very well."

* * *

It was later that night when I returned home; gi somewhat tattered from my mistake of going too easy. I tiptoed down the hallway, past Yahiko's room, past Kaoru's room-"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" 

"Oro!" I turned to see a ferocious looking Kaoru glaring daggers at me and growling like a lion. "Eh, Kaoru-dono, sessha is very sorry to come home so late. . . ."

"And why is your gi so cut up?" Kaoru frowned as she inspected my gi. She looked up furiously at me, "What were you doing with that woman? Were you doing something horribly mature? Or possibly something even more horribly mature?" She continued to mutter to herself, "Oh Kami-sama! What if he was doing horribly mature things with that woman I saw him walking into the market with!"

I blinked, "A woman?" An image popped into my mind of Sanosuke giggling like a girl, waving a fan in front of his face and fluttering his eyelashes a terrible amount. _Oh yeah. _"Kaoru-dono, I think you mean-"

"NO!" she interrupted me. "I don't want to hear your excuses, Kenshin! They are nothing to me. Goodnight!" she slammed the door in my face. I stood silently in front of her door, blinking, until Kaoru started to sob. Suddenly, "Don't even think of coming in here and baby-talking me, Kenshin! Goodnight!"

I sighed and turned from her door only to bump into Yahiko. "Oh, Yahiko. I'm sorry to wake you. . ."

"You two talk loud," Yahiko complained. He glanced at Kaoru's door, "And she cries really loud. What did you do this time?" He raised his eyebrow at my tattered gi.

"It's nothing very important, now you should get some rest. Kaoru-dono will most likely go hard on your lessons tomorrow," I felt guilty, but Yahiko just grinned and went back to bed. I padded over to my own room and sat down on my futon; thinking about the day.

_First: Sanosuke asks me to come gambling with him. I agree, as long as I don't actually have to gamble. _

_Second: Sanosuke dresses as a female, thinking that the men will go easy on him._

_Third: They do._

_Fourth: I'm attacked while on the way back home by men who had business with Battousai. They were not trained to be swordsmen, and obviously a trap, but nothing sprung. _

I fingered my gi. There was a small cut on my right shoulder that stung sharply. I frowned. _Fifth: I go too easy on them and allow them to cut me. _I touched the small cut and bit back a hiss. It felt like a paper cut that went two inches along my shoulder. I looked up at my window.

_Sixth: Sanosuke and the attackers kept me up late._

I removed my sakabatou from my hakama and laid it next to my futon. Not even bothering to get out of my normal clothes, I lay down on my futon and closed my eyes.

_"Yer that monster, the Hitokiri Battousai! Yer nothin' but a merciless killer who found a sword!"_

_"You must fight us, even if we stand no chance to you. You must fight us."_

**_"Stand up and be a man!"_**

**_"You're such a teacher's pet--why can't you live a little?"_**

_"-Merciless killer-"_

_**"-Be a man-"**_

_"-the Hitokiri Battousai-"_

_**"-live a little-"**_

_"-that monster-"_

"BATTOUSAI!" I screamed but nothing happened. I blinked. And blinked again. And then I let out a heavy sigh. _It was just a dream, _I told myself. _Nothing more than a dream. . ._

At that moment, Kaoru and Yahiko came pounding into the room. "Kenshin!" – "Is something wrong?" – "We heard you scream. ." – "What happened?" Kaoru knelt down beside my futon, where I sat, still befuddled, "Kenshin? What's wrong? What is-" she caught her breath and leaned back slightly. Yahiko did the same.

I frowned and looked at them both. And blinked, "It was. . . just a dream. I'm sorry that I woke you both up. It's not that big of a deal. Go on back to bed." But my words didn't seem to make any sense because Kaoru and Yahiko were still staring me. I shook my head in bewilderment, "Is. . . there. . . something on my face?"

"Kenshin," Yahiko stated quietly. "Your eyes are amber."

I froze and felt the whole room stiffen. It took a few moments to be able to breathe again. And then I punched myself in the face. And blinked. Kaoru and Yahiko shook their heads. My eyes were still amber. _The dream must be the cause of this. . . but why can't I turn them back to normal? _"Eh, Kaoru-dono. . . Yahiko, please. You both should get some rest. This is probably just because of my dream. It's not a big deal," I swallowed. ". . . that it isn't." _Why did I have to force myself to say that?_

"Kenshin, is there something wrong?" Kaoru asked. When I shook my head, she asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?" I shook my head. "Well, then. . . goodnight." They left hesitantly, quietly and cautiously. I watched them leave with regret.

_There's something wrong with me. . ._ I thought. My right shoulder was intensely sore for some reason. I touched it gently, only to pull back sharply. The small cut on it was black and blue in a three-inch radius. _That can't be right. A small cut like that would never. . ._ I tried moving my right arm. It hurt just to move it.

I suddenly looked back on my fight with the men in black. _"You must fight us, even if we stand no chance to you." _It was a trap. _They knew I'd go easy. If I can't move my right arm, I'll be defenseless. If those men come back for another fight. . . _The thought was unbearable. _I might be able to outrun them, but when it comes down to actually fighting. . ._

_. . . I'd lose._

**

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**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. Geesh.

**Author's Notes: **Uh yeah: This was supposed to be a one-shot, but it kind of . . . grew. Yeah. This was also supposed to be humor, but this chapter wasn't really all that funny; so I promise the next one will be much more hilarious. Thank you for reading, and please leave a review. Thank you minna-sama!


	2. A Pathetic Swordsman

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_****_Chapter Two_**

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The night lasted for what felt like an eternity. I looked up at the window to see a red sun rising from the ground, and sighed. Morning. I stood up and stretched with a yawn. I had slept for about two hours that night. Another sigh escaping from me; I folded my futon and set it in the corner of my room. Quietly, I slipped out of my room and down the hallway. The kitchen sat there watching me; saying 'good morning!' and inviting me to make breakfast.

_I don't feel like it._

The thought said quietly in the back of my mind. I hesitated. I knew that Kaoru and Yahiko would not be awake for another hour or so, but it was almost tradition for me to make breakfast.

_I don't want to._

The thought was louder this time. I swallowed hard, eyeing the kitchen's counter. Every morning I would walk over to that counter and happily make breakfast for Kaoru and Yahiko, and sometimes Sanosuke. They would thank me kindly and eat it slowly to savor the taste. . . except for Yahiko and Sanosuke; whom always ate quick, fast and in a hurry.

Kaoru would always eat it slowly.

_I don't want to make their stupid breakfast! They can make it themselves!_

I walked past the kitchen and out to the front porch. I blinked. _Why did I do that?_ I wondered fleetingly. But the thought passed quickly and I sat down on the porch to watch the sun rise. My sakabatou itched on my left hip. I smiled slightly and jumped up; running to the clearing in front of Kaoru's house. I drew my sakabatou, took a deep breath, and began a –

My right arm suddenly gave way and I dropped my sakabatou with a cry. I fell to my knees and grasped my right arm. _I haven't felt pain like this for a decade. _The thought ran through my mind. I pushed back my gi for a moment and glanced down at the cut on my shoulder. It had turned an ugly shade of green. I knew had I to run to Megumi; the cut had gotten far too serious.

_Why run to a doctor just because of a tiny cut? _I suddenly asked myself. _Why run to a woman, crying, "Come kiss my boo-boo better!" when it's just a little tiny cut?_

I glared at the cut and slowly sheathed my sword with my left hand. Taking in a deep breath, I looked up at the porch to see-

-Kaoru standing there watching me?

"Uh, Kaoru. .dono. . ." I muttered. _Did she see me in pain? Did she see my arm? From the look on her face, I'd probably guess so. _

"Kenshin," she stated thickly. "Good morning." Was that sarcasm in her voice?

I smiled shakily, "Good morning Kaoru-dono." . . . We stood there in silence. Kaoru staring at me with questioning eyes and me standing there biting back the pain in my right arm and praying to God that she didn't notice it.

"I suppose I'll just go make breakfast, won't I?" Kaoru sniffed. She saw my panicked face and turned on her heels. _She's obviously not forgotten my torn gi. . which by the way, I still have to mend. . . _

I tried to follow Kaoru, walking up the steps to the porch, "Kaoru-dono, I can explain everything. You see-" My foot suddenly shifted to the right and fell down a step, with me following. "Oh shit!" I cursed-and then suddenly realized my mistake and said, "I mean. . . Oro!"

Kaoru gaped at me for a moment, raised her eyebrow, then put on her mask and walked into the kitchen. I sighed. _What was that about? _I wondered for the millionth time. But I didn't wonder about for long because at that very moment, Sanosuke popped out of thin-air.

"Hey Kenshin! What-cha doin'?" he asked loudly.

I smiled flakily at him, "Mornin' Sano." I frowned somewhat at my use of slang.

But Sanosuke grinned from ear to ear. "Good to see you're feeling good, this morning. Well," he turned to Kaoru, ignoring my befuddled look. "What's for breakfast?"

"I'm about to make it," Kaoru growled.

Sanosuke's grin fell to the floor. "Oh. Then I'm outa here. Comin' with me, Kenshin?" he grabbed my right arm and dragged me outside. I bit my lower lip to stop my outburst of pain. Sanosuke continued to drag me all the way outside of the Kamiya residence. As soon as we were well out of sight of Kaoru, I pushed Sanosuke away. Amazingly, he flew a few feet more than I had expected.

When he got up and looked at me straight in the eye, he grinned once more from ear to ear. I realized that my eyes were probably still amber. He was just noticing it now? "I see," he muttered.

"See what." It was not a question.

Sanosuke grinned wider, "That. . . you're hungry and in desperate need of some grub! Let's go." He pushed me towards the market until I was simply walking on my own. I was glaring at the ground the entire time. "You need to loosen up a little, Kenshin," Sanosuke told me. He led me toward a bar.

"It's morning, Sano," I argued, but I couldn't argue when the cup of sake was in front of me. I gulped it down as quickly as I could; shaking my head a bit to clear it. Sanosuke laughed beside me; not drinking anything. "Why don't you drink?" I asked, my voice a bit deeper than normal. _That's odd, _I thought. But the thought was gone.

"Nahh," he said. "I don't drink in the morning. You go ahead." I was about to complain but another cup of sake was in front of me, and before I knew it, several cups of sake were gone. Sanosuke grinned, "Feeling better?"

I grinned with him, "What now?"

"Now," he stated. "We walk the town." Putting his arm around my left shoulder, he walked me out of the bar. My legs felt loopy but I didn't care. Even the pain in my right shoulder had lessened. Suddenly I was on the ground and Sanosuke was roaring in laughter. I glared up at him. "Sorry buddy," he said, helping me up. "Didn't have a tight enough grip on ya."

We walked on a bumblebee trail through the best and worst parts of Tokyo. We said hello to people we didn't know, and got in several fights: all of which, Sanosuke fought in. I stood behind, but it didn't matter to me. Sanosuke did not need to know about my handicap.

"What do you say to a little beef-pot?" Sanosuke asked, pointing to the Akebeko. I grinned and nodded. Beef-pot sounded like exactly what I needed. We made our way to the Akebeko and sat down at a table. Our waitress was Tae.

"Well, I didn't expect to see just the two of you here," she informed us with her crazy Texan accent. "But I can guess what you want. It'll be here momentarily." She left us with an odd look on her face. I figured it to be my eyes, but there was something else bothering her. Could it be that she was worried about Kaoru and Yahiko not being here?

Sanosuke punched me lightly on my right arm (I tried to contain my grimace), "Oi, what would you say to a little gambling after this?"

_Gambling is a horrible sport, which steals people of their money! _"Sure thing, Sano," the words spilled from my lips before I could stop them. The expression on Sanosuke's face told me that he didn't expect them either. And then suddenly, his eyes sparkled in a way I knew meant he was up to something. "What?" I asked.

"Nothin'," he told me; but I knew something was going on in that small. . . very small brain of his. "Ahh! Here's our food. A toast!" Sanosuke raised his sake glass. I hesitantly toasted with him, but I had no idea what we were toasting, for Sanosuke did not say.

We ate our beef-pot quickly. I ate mine at almost the same pace as Sanosuke. It reminded me of how I used to eat as a soldier of the Bakumatsu. . ._Scratch that. Why on Earth is this happening? I'm acting like. . .like. ._

"You better gamble with me, Kenshin, or else!" Sanosuke told me with a fist raised.

I grinned, "I'm going to beat you so bad, you won't know what hit you!"

"Yeah, right!" Sanosuke laughed. I laughed with him. It felt. . perfect to laugh like this with my best friend; forgetting all formality and respect and simply. . going for the gold. It felt perfect.

We scrambled to the gambling alley, laughing all the way there. "-And. . . and then. . ." Sanosuke burst into hysterical laughter, his arm around my left shoulder. "Yahiko looked up at me and said," he shook his head, trying not to laugh. "He said, 'It was you, wasn't it?'" We both cracked up as though the pathetic story Sanosuke had told was the funniest thing we had ever heard in our lives.

"Keep laughing. I'd love to see your face when I punch it in."

I looked up to see the men in black that I had defeated the night before. They all had bruises where I had struck them down. And they didn't look very happy about it.

"Where's our money?" the leader asked.

Sanosuke frowned, "I'll give it to you tomorrow. I already told you that."

My eyes widened, "What!" _He set them up. My best friend paid these men to attack me. _"You. . you paid these men to attack me!" My anger was building up inside of me more than it ever had in a long time. _Was all our laughter fake? Was my trust in him wrong? _My hands crunched into fists; my sakabatou itching on my hip.

"Now, Kenshin," Sanosuke put up his hands. "It isn't what you think it is. Believe me!" But I was far from believing him. "Kenshin, please! It isn't what you think!" But I was shaking my head, growling. The men in black were starting to surround Sanosuke, muttering complaints of not being 'paid for going easy on a pathetic swordsman.'

_Me? A pathetic swordsman! _My anger turned to the men in black. "I'll give you pathetic swordsman!" with that said, I drew my sakabatou and-

-Growled in pain like a defeated lion, dropped my sakabatou with a clattering sound and clutched my right arm; gasping for air. The men laughed at me. They laughed at me as they might laugh at a child who had dropped his ice cream and had started crying. The laughter spun in my head; it made me yearn for my katana.

_My katana? _The tiny voice in the back of my mind asked. But it was muffled by the fierce growling coming from the back of my throat. "Stop. . laughing," I whispered. They continued to laugh. "Stop laughing. Stop laughing at me. STOP LAUGHING!" And I was on my feet, sakabatou in hand, despite the extreme pain. Suddenly, the laughter disappeared and was replaced by screams of agony.

I knew Sanosuke was watching me fearlessly attack the men, but I didn't care. A slice here, a thunk there. . . the men went down even faster than they had the night before. As soon as each of them was on the ground, I dropped my sakabatou. The silence in the alley was disturbing. I realized that every man who had been gambling around us had seen me.

And Sanosuke had seen me fight in a way he had never seen me fight before. Out of pure rage.

I suddenly had a great urge to run. Fulfilling it was not hard. Comforting my right arm inside of my gi, I ran as fast as I could away from the gambling alley; without even looking back at Sanosuke. I didn't want to. I didn't need to. I knew what expression was on his face.

It felt like rain was pouring on my head. I looked up to see that it was. The sky was dark and cloudy. I glanced at the forest bordering town and nodded. I quickly ran into the maze of trees, taking in the sweet smell of bamboo that I hadn't smelled in what felt like forever. I suddenly thought of Kaoru. She was probably still upset with me.

_It's probably for the best if she continues to be angry with me. _I thought sadly. _Then she won't miss me when I'm gone._

**

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Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Gosh. Freakin' idiot!**

**Author's Notes: **Oh my gosh! So many reviewers! I am terribly sorry for not updating soon enough: I was on vacation for a week. Thank you to everybody who has read and reviewed. You guys are so cool. I hope that this chapter has given you answers and given you more questions because I ain't gonna tell ya! (evil laughter) Ahem. Thank you for reading, and, if possible, could you leave a review and gimmie some feedback please?


	3. I'm A Moron

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_**

**_Chapter Three_**

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"Crap, crap, crap, crap. . . crap, oh crap, holy crap, cra-" 

"Would you please stop sputtering and give me an explanation why you bothered to come into my house soaking wet," Kaoru asked impatiently. She shook her head at the drenched Sanosuke Sagara who stood barely two feet into the 'home' part of the Kamiya Dojo, hiding the sakabatou behind his back. "And it better be good."

For a moment, Sanosuke tilted his head in deep thought (if, Kaoru wondered fleetingly, that's possible). He pondered on whether or not to tell Kaoru that Kenshin had turned . . well. . Battousai and was hiding only Kami-sama knew where with most likely no plans of returning. An image popped into his mind of Kaoru sobbing into his already drenched shoulder, and then suddenly changing moods and beating him furiously over the head for his 'moronic stupidity', and then changing moods again and falling into (another) deep depression that nobody except Kenshin would be able to bring her out of. And the chances of Kenshin returning were pretty low.

Hence, the answer that popped into his mind was: NO WAY IN HELL!

"Where's Yahiko?"

Kaoru sighed and pointed to the little swordsman's room, "Fine. Don't tell me."

Sanosuke hopped like a bunny rabbit down the hallway to Yahiko's room, and then jumped through the slightly open shoji door. "YAHIKO!" he shouted, and then remembered Kaoru, whom was still standing in the living room with a perfect half-eye lidded Garfield expression . . . if only they knew who Garfield was . . . "Yahiko, you were right! I am a moron!"

"Damn right!" Yahiko said at once. "I knew you'd admit it one of these days."

"No, no, no, no!" Sanosuke sputtered again. "This is really. . . REALLY bad." He decided to become serious because the small swordsman was not very interested, "It has to do with Kenshin."

Sanosuke had Yahiko's full attention.

"I, well. . to make a long story short, me-and-Kenshin-were-gambling-you-see-and-he-wasn't-being-very-manly-so-I-decided-to-make-him-a-man-and-the-only-way-to-do-that-is-to-make-him-Battousai-so-I-paid-these-guys-to-go-attack-him-thinking-that-they-would-turn-him-into-Battousai-by-giving-them-these-Rememberance-potion-and-making-them-put-it-on-their-swords-because-I-knew-Kenshin-would-go-easy-because-he-always-does-when-it-comes-to-rather-weak-people-but-anyway-it-worked-and-Kenshin-became-Battousai-and-we-had-a-blast-together-until-he-found-out-that-I-actually-paid-those-guys-to attack him and he got upset and I think that the Remberance potion worked too well because he was kind of acting like a little kid but anyway he ran away without looking back oh did I mention that he totally wiped out those guys again but anyway he ran away and I really don't think that he'll come back and I'm afraid of telling Kaoru because she would go CRAZY!"

Yahiko stared at him with a bored expression. "Hey moron."

Sanosuke glanced around, "Yeah?"

"Did you know," Yahiko stated. "That I have no idea what you just said."

"Kenshin is Battousai!" Sanosuke yelled. "And it's my fault! And he probably won't come back! And it's my fault because I'm a moron! And we can't tell Kaoru because she would go CRAZY! And it's MY FAULT!"

Yahiko took in a deep breath, ". . .Okay. Well. What do we do?"

Sanosuke stared at him, "I have absolutely NO idea."

* * *

I sat underneath a large tree. It protected me from the rain. But that didn't really matter. 

My best friend had betrayed me. He had paid men to attack me. _But why? _He pretended to be my friend. _Was he really pretending? _I knew in my guts that I hated him. _We've been like brothers from almost the beginning. _Kaoru was angry with me, so she won't worry where I am. _To think of her worrying about me. . . it makes me feel like I'm worth something._

_I'm not worth anything._

The thought echoed in my mind a thousand times. Why even imagine that Kaoru was worried about me? Why even imagine that she would care? And yet, deep inside of me, I really wanted to imagine that she felt something-anything! just for me. Feelings that she didn't feel for anyone else. Only me.

_But that will never be, because it's all in my imagination._

I reached up to my left cheek where two long scars roughened my skin, and sighed. Had _she _even loved me? Had _she_ felt any of those feelings that you only feel for one person, and one alone? Or was that just more of my imagination?

"Damn," I muttered. _Brooding over this won't get me anywhere. _I had a sudden urge to grab my sword and cut at the tree I was resting upon. But there two strikes against that. One: I couldn't move my right arm at all; it had gone completely numb. Two: I didn't have my sword. I had left it in the gambling alley. A sudden panic flew over me, but then it was gone. What was the use in that old sakabatou now, anyway?

I looked up at the rain falling from the black sky, and opened my mouth in a vain attempt to catch the water on my tongue. _He had wanted to tell me something. _I recalled. _He had wanted to say something to me. He had wanted to explain; and I interrupted him. _It was probably just some stupid excuse to get out of yet another one of his close calls. _He had wanted to say he was sorry._

I frowned. _I'll never know if I stay here. _The tree felt nice beneath my back. I let my head lull against it. _Perhaps I should give him a second chance. Why give up on a friendship so hastily? And what about Kaoru-dono?_

Kaoru-dono.

_I still have to explain to her about Sanosuke's cross-dressing. And I still have to explain my tattered gi-and the rest of the story since it's doubtful that Sano would tell her. _I closed the eyes I knew were still amber. _And maybe my true feelings for her._

I dreamt of silky midnight hair, sparkling blue eyes and. . . the scent of jasmine.

* * *

"YOU WHAT?" 

Sanosuke grinned sheepishly, "I used that Remembrance potion you gave me to use on Kenshin so that he would remember how it was to be Battousai?"

Megumi's nostrils flared, "I thought you simply wanted it so that you could actually REMEMBER a thing or two!"

"Well. . . I. . . used it on Kenshin."

"I cannot believe you!" Megumi nearly shrieked, much to the displeasure of her rooster-headed victim. "You used the Remembrance potion on Ken-san so that he would remember what it was like to be Battousai: simply so that you two could go gambling without what you call, 'Kenshin's nagging modesty'?" Her voice had risen a few octaves.

Sanosuke nearly meeped, "Uh . . . . . . . . . . . Yeah."

The screech that followed could be heard by all Japan.

-Kaoru looked up, "What was that?"

Yahiko yawned, "Probly' Megumi."

"Oh," and Kaoru continued her bamboo sword kata.-

Sanosuke fell to his knees, "Oh please, please, please Megumi! You've got to help me! I really meant well! I just wanted Kenshin to be a bit more manly and little less obsessed with his so-called, 'unworthiness'! Please Megumi! Please!" He buried his head into her feet and pretended to sob. He continued this for what felt like several minutes until he finally heard Megumi speak in what sounded like a very evil tone.

"Would you do anything for my help?"

"Anything!"

". . . _Anything_?"

"YES! ANYTHING!"

Megumi grinned from ear to ear. "Alright then." The images that swept past Sanosuke's mind of torture, insanity and for some odd reason: pierced nipples, was almost as fearful as Megumi's evil tone of voice. "Follow me."

It was an hour later that Yahiko popped by the clinic to check on Sanosuke's progress at winning over Megumi for help (which had been _his _idea, mind you, **not **Sanosuke's) when he heard something rather peculiar. His eyes widening at the sound of it, he tried to press the perverse images out of his mind. But. . . they came into his mind anyway. He decided to make a run for it, but not before he faintly heard Sanosuke saying, "Baby, you could have asked me for this for FREE!"

As soon as Yahiko returned to the Kamiya Dojo, he scrambled to where Kaoru was sweeping the porch and tugged on her kimono. She looked down at his questioning face. He blurted the question as innocently as he possibly could, "Kaoru? Where do babies come from?"

* * *

Morning came quickly, but I did not awaken until long after sunrise. I opened my eyes to see it shining brightly; despite the storm the day before. I sat up slowly and stretched slightly, except, of course, for my right arm. It was resting inside the chest area of my gi, limply. My hair fell dimly around my shoulders. The dark ribbon had become loose. 

Carefully and with much frustration, I tied my hair with one hand into a ponytail on the top of my head. Sighing, I stood up and stretched out my legs. I looked towards town. _I'll give him a second chance. And if I am wrong. . . I'll. . ._ My bangs covered my eyes. _I'll tell Kaoru that it is time for me to be a wanderer again._

Kaoru.

The walk to the Kamiya Dojo did not take long. I was extra cautious about bumping into those men in black. Without a sword and no right arm would not be a pretty sight. Soon, I stood in from of the Kamiya Dojo. I could already hear Yahiko's loud complaints. I smiled faintly and entered. There stood Kaoru and Yahiko, practicing.

Yahiko's expression was that of a fish out of water and Kaoru's expression still had a brush of anger. "Where have you been?" she demanded. And then she gasped, "Don't tell me. You've been hanging out with that slutty woman, haven't you?"

Yahiko's fish face slowly disappeared, "Kenshin. . . What are you doing here?" It was only then that they noticed my still amber eyes and my hair up on top of my head. I didn't notice the difference.

"Where is Sano," it was more of a demand than a question. My voice was cold and deep; all business.

Kaoru and Yahiko gaped at me; traces of fear crawling over their faces. _I don't want them to be afraid of me. _"H-he," Yahiko stuttered. "He's at the clinic!" he pointed down the road. I nodded somewhat, turned on my heel and started down the road. _Now what would Sanosuke be doing at the clinic?_

I looked around the clinic. It seemed to be empty. A sign was on the door that said, "CLOSED".

I rapped on the door. No answer. I knocked again. Still no answer. I was about to practically punch the door when suddenly Megumi opened the door. Her hair was a mess and her yukata had obviously been put on in haste; forit was giving me a rather good view. She stared at me, and then said, "So it is true." There was a small groan from inside the room that sounded terribly like Sanosuke.

I struggled not to raise an eyebrow, but did not succeed.

Megumi turned to someone I could not see, "Sano. There's somebody at the door for you."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Watashi no Rurouni Kenshin IIE!

**Author's Notes: **I love suspense, don't you? Yes: I got a bit rowdy on this chapter with the whole Megumi/Sano thing. But don't worry, this is a BxK fic. Thank you so much for the reviews! Chibi is so happy to read them, they all fill her up like chocolate inside. Please let me know what you think of this chapter. Thank you minna-sama. Oh, but wait, THERE'S MORE!

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	4. You Betrayed Me!

**_

* * *

Chapter Four _**

* * *

I stepped into the room as Megumi slipped out of it. Sanosuke sat there, already dressed. "There's my best friend," I said, a bit sharper than I had intended. _A second chance! _"The best friend who betrayed me and paid men to attack me. Me; under the name of Hitokiri Battousai." I said the name with no regret. He winced. "My _best _friend!" I shouted, feeling all reason slip away from me. 

"Kenshin-"

"No!" I interrupted him, clutching my head as if it were about to explode. "I have been betrayed by my best friend! The best friend I **trusted **enough to put my own life in his hands! The best friend I had been through everything with! _Everything_!" I raged. "Everybody I trust, they just seem to turn into **liars!**" _You make the bloody rain fall. _"I!. . I!. ." I took out my anger on the chair. It smashed into the wall with a thud.

Sanosuke watched me silently.

"You. ." I faltered, feeling my strength drain quickly and dropped to my knees in front of Sanosuke; a man ten years younger than myself, and yet, at that moment, more mature. "You betrayed me."

He looked at me with an unreadable expression. And then it broke, "I'm sorry."

My eyes suddenly found the floor extremely interesting as I whispered, "Why?"

"I wanted to help you," he explained, sounding much unlike himself. "I wanted you to . . ease up a little. I wanted you to think better of yourself. The only way I knew how to do that was to make you remember back to the time when you didn't have to 'atone for your sins'."

I took in a deep breath. "You paid those men to attack me," I accused."You knew I'd go easy if I considered them less." I looked up at him."I understand that you only wanted to help," I whispered, trying to fight my rage. I smiled slighty, "I had a great time yesterday. But . . .wasn't it possible just to talk to me about this?" _"Someday, I'm going to make you a man."_

"Nothing I could have said would have changed your mind," Sanosuke muttered. "I'm sorry."

I stared at him, and then glanced at the door; where Megumi was spying on us. "I do not feel like my old self. I feel . . ." I frowned, "Younger. Reckless. Uncontrolled. And my right arm. . ." I showed him the cut on my shoulder and received even more apologies. "You said Remembrance potion?" when he nodded, my frown grew deeper. "I think there was something else in that potion."

"It wasn't my doing, Kenshin! Believe me!"

I paused. And then, softly, "I know that, Sano, I'm thinking about those men you hired." We sat in silence. "They knew I am. . ._was _Battousai." He gave me an odd look but I ignored it. "Perhaps they had a grudge against me. If they put something extra into the Remembrance potion. . ." I glanced at the cut. "My entire right arm is completely numb, including my shoulder. If it were to spread. ."

Sanosuke's eyes widened, "Megumi!"

She came at once. "It doesn't look good, Ken-san," she looked sharply at me. "Why didn't you come to me about this earlier? I might have been able to stop the numbing sooner." Megumi quickly ran to a cabinet, her back turned to me as I sighed, thinking, _Just a little tiny cut, huh? _She continued, "I might have something to postpone the numbing, but I'll never have an antidote until I know what poison they used."

Sanosuke covered his face with his hands, "I'm so stupid. . . this is all my fault, Kenshin."

I smiled softly and put my left hand on his shoulder, feeling more like myself,"Now that I know the whole story, all is forgiven. Do not worry. All I have to do is find those men and what poison they used." I looked up at Megumi, "Is there an antidote for the Remembrance potion?" She shook her head. I frowned, "Then. . ."

"Then we'll just have to turn you back to normal!" Sanosuke grinned. "All you have to do is do the laundry and say 'oro' and 'Kaoru-dono' and crap like that. It'll be easy!"

"I don't know, Rooster Head," Megumi told him. "It would take a lot of work to turn Ken-san back to normal. I gave you extra heavy Remembrance potion," she turned red. "I thought you were using it on yourself, so I thought you'd need the extra help." She smiled when Sanosuke glared at her, "And that is also your fault."

"I just_ love_ when you rub it in my face."

Megumi laughed behind her hand, "Ohohoho! Well." She turned to me, "Ken-san, if there is anything else you need. . .?"

"No, thank you Megumi. . .dono," I said sheepishly. For some reason, my head was starting to hurt. "Thank you for everything. With this potion to postpone the numbness, how long do you think I have?"

Her face was hard, "It's hard to tell, Ken-san. But, if you don't get the antidote, your entire body will be completely paralyzed in about. . . a week." She gulped heavily, "I'm sorry . . . Kenshin. You need to get that poison." It was a dismissil, that was for sure.

Sanosuke stood up. "Later Fox."

"Ahem," Megumi tapped her foot, apparently over her tears.

Sanosuke went red, "Oh, uh. . ." He flashed me a look, strode over to Megumi and gave her a three second long kiss—not that I was counting. And then we exited the clinic. "Thank you for giving me a second chance, Kenshin," Sanosuke told me quietly as soon as we stepped out. "I. . don't know what I'd do without your friendship." He glared at me, "And don't even think about telling anybody 'bout the Fox 'n me!"

I grinned and slapped him on the back, "That's what friends are for, right they,Sano? Now, are you comin'?" And that's when I remembered:

_Kaoru!_

"Crap," I muttered. Sanosuke raised his eyebrow. I grimaced, "Kaoru . . .dono. . is still upset with me." The explanation wasn't all that necessary because at that very moment, Kaoru came running at me with her broomstick. (Yahiko snickered, "Meheh. . . always knew she was a witch!")

"KENSHIN HIMURA!"

I laughed uneasily, "Y-Yes Kaoru. . .dono?"

She pointed at me sharply with her broom. "WHERE were you last night? And why haven't you done the laundry? And why are your eyes still amber? Have you been getting into fights? If you have, I am seriously going to KICK your BUTT, mister! Because I just _can't stand it_ when you do stupid things like that behind my back, thinking that I won't worry. . . when I actually. . . do."

I held my breath, "Kaoru-dono, it'snot reallythat big of a deal." She eyed me and I panicked, "I-I mean, well. . . it's not really all that important. . . I mean" _Stop looking stupid, stupid! _". . .Uh, why don't wediscuss this in the Dojo?" I began to walk-

"Kenshin!" she pulled on my ponytail.

"Hey! Stop that!" I growled before I could stop myself. She immediately pulled back in fear. I stopped short, "Uh. . . Oro?"

Kaoru glared at me, and asif physic, "If you are going to tell me that you're going to wander again. . I . . . I don't want to hear it!" With this said, she stomped into the dojo and slammed the door behind her.

I glanced at Sanosuke, "I . . . sort of. . . saw that going differently in my mind."

Sanosuke just shrugged, chrunching on his fishbone.

I sighed, "You're much help. What now?" We stood there, thinking. Or at least,_ I_ was thinking. _No antidote until we know the poison, a potion to postpone the numbness, but it'll spread anyway, Kaoru is angry as hell with me for reasons unknown, and Sano has no idea what to do. And quite frankly, neither do I._

_Hold on! _"Sanosuke, where did you meet those men in black?" I turned to him.

He scratched him head, "Uh. . They were walking around near my place. Pretty convenient, now that I think about it, 'cuz I had already thought up the plan to make you remember . . uh, yeah."

"Wait," I frowned. "They were just standing near your shack?"

"Yup," Sanosuke said. And then he frowned, "It's a house, not a shack."

I ignored him, "That _is _convenient. _Too_ convenient. They must have known that I know you." I growled, "This is getting more and more complicated! Those men must have been after me for some time. They might even know where the Kamiya Dojo is." I looked around, "We need to go to your place, now! If they don't know about the Kamiya Dojo yet, we don't want to just give it to them by hanging around here."

We took off for Sanosuke's "shack". Though we weren't racing, Sanosuke was probably going to beat me to the shack. I could tell he was trying to slow down. _That's not good. Now my speed is being taken away from me as well! _My legs felt like jello, but I kept running, and looked up. The sun was following us.

"You wouldn't happen to know what those four's names were, would you?" I asked. Sanosuke shook his head. "Perfect," I grimaced. _Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers! _(Hiko suddenly popped in my mind, "_Baka deshi! You're about to run into a market stand!_") My eyes widened as I went head first into a market stand full of watermelons.

I stood up. Everything was a darkish red. Sanosuke, despite the serious moment, was laughing his butt off. "K-Kenshin!" he sputtered. "There's a watermelon on your head!"

I yanked the watermelon off of my perfect red hair, which was now covered in watermelon seeds, making my head look exactly like a watermelon. I sighed, "Yes, Sano. Thank you." I started to pick out the seeds. _It's going to take ten baths to get this out of my precious hair! _"Let's keep going." And we kept running. I knew I was going even slower than before. Sanosuke continued to send me questioning looks, but I ignored him.

We finally reached the shack. The small road was quiet. Very quiet. I glanced around, "Sano, I've got one more question."

"What's that?" Sanosuke asked, sliding the roughened shoji door open.

I sighed, "Well, it's-" Suddenly there were arms grabbing me! I heard Sanosuke yell, being given the same treatement, and I knew my mistake. The four men in black had been waiting for us in Sanosuke's shack. I tried to push them off, but with only my left arm, plus the rest of my slowly numbing body, it was useless.

"There you are, Battousai," a voice whispered in my ear. "I've been waiting for this for a very . . . _very_ long time." I felt a cloth placed over my nose and mouth. There was no use in holding my breath because several arms were holding me tightly; I wasn't going anywhere. My eyelids slowly drooped. For a moment, I felt like I was flying. But I must have crashed, because a moment later, everything was dark.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Wawoni Kensin. 

**Author's Notes: **Okay, a few things need to be cleared up. This story is supposed to be cheesy: like a soap opera mixed with obviousness (like the handy Remembrance potion). Also, if something I have written here has been used before, I'm terribly sorry; I didn't know. Thank you so much for all your feedback. I try to keep characters IN character (except for Kenshin for obvious reasons) but if they go haywire at moments, let me know, and I'll get better. I think, becoming a better writer is the goal of Fanfiction (dot) net. Thank you minna-sama!

But wait, THERE'S MORE!

(commercial-guy like voice) **YOU** could be a star!

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Thank you.


	5. The Torture Hasn't Even Begun

**_Chapter Five_**

* * *

"Look, I think he's waking up!"

"Thank you. . .For pointing out the obvious!"

"Well, I was only saying-"

"Will you SHUT UP!"

I groaned. My chest was throbbing painfully. I cracked open an eye and closed it again quickly. The light was far too bright. I tried to sit up, only to find that I couldn't move. I frowned and tried to move my hands. They were tied up, just like my ankles. Panic fell over me as I remembered Sanosuke's shack. The men in black had found us before we could find them. Where was Sanosuke?

"I told you he's waking up!"

"Yes, yes. Run and tell our master."

"Yes sir!" a loud thud sounded as he left the room.

"Well, well, well," the voice was directed towards me. "If it isn't our poor little Battousai. If you're awake, then open your eyes!" He poked my eyes, forcing them open. My eyes grew watery as I blinked in the light. "About to cry, are you, Battousai? Ha!" He held my chin and whispered, "I'll give you a reason to cry. . .Speak Battousai!"

My anger lifted at his teasing. I looked clearly into his black eyes, ready to snap a snide remark, "Ah. .Hhhn. . .Iiin. ." My panic grew as I found that I couldn't talk! My throat felt so extremely dry. _How long have I been out? Days? _

He laughed, his face becoming even uglier with his smile, "A bit thirsty, are we, Battousai? Well." He pushed my chin away with an awful crack, "You won't be having anything to drink, any time soon. Unless the Master thinks you should, to keep you alive a bit longer." The man glanced at me one last time before leaving the 'room', "See you later, Battousai."

I would have yelled at him, if it weren't for my dry throat. My anger could not defeat my weakness. The other man came into the room, and stood in front of the door. _Great. A guard. _Just then, my stomach growled like a lion. The guard eyed me, suspiciously.

"I've been given orders to only feed you to keep you alive," he told me cautiously. "Do you need some now?"

As if an angel had been from heaven, the kind, forgiving, yet not the brightest of people, guard, lifted my head and forced me to drink water and eat rice. I took it in, my body greedy. When he asked me if I needed more, I nodded my head. _Though it may hurt my pride, my life is more important than my pride!

* * *

_

"And I'm telling **you **that if you don't tell me where Kenshin is, I'm gonna to KICK yer ass!" Sanosuke yelled, shaking his chained wrists to create a loud clanking noise.

His guard glared at him with his one eye. "And I'm telling **you **that the Battousai is dead." He smirked, "Or soon will be. For you see, our boss has a very large grudge against the manslayer. Or should I say, pathetic manslayer; as I heard that he begged for water like a dog." He sneered in Sanosuke's face, "As for you, you won't last much longer than him."

Sanosuke spat in One-eye's face. "It must be a pretty damn big grudge for yer boss to do this." _And of course Kenshin needs water, he's in a poor state, _his anger grew. "What kind of grudge would make a man stoop to torture?"

One-eye grinned, "Oh, we haven't even started the torture. And, for your information, it is a huge grudge." He snickered. "Anyway, beside the torture your pathetic manslayer of a friend will go through, his body is slowly numbing, isn't it?" Sanosuke's poker face only brought more snorts. "It will only be a matter of time. You shall see."

"But why go through all this trouble for one man?" Sanosuke cried.

"Why go through all that man slaying for one country?" One-eye countered. "Why kill so many of the strong so that the few weak may live? It does not make sense to me," he spat. "And that is why I work for my master."

"Because you don't understand?" Sanosuke jested.

A punch landed him in the eye, "You are stupid and useless!" One-eye growled. "I do not see why the master even wants you here, but it must be a good plan. Never get in his way, Zanza, or you shall regret it."

Sanosuke frowned, "How did you-"

"Ha! How long do you think we've been following the Battousai and his little friends?" One-eye sneered. "Don't get cocky." With such said, he sat back down on his chair by the door and glared at Sanosuke; silently.

And Sanosuke glared back at him, not so silently.

"KENSHIN!"

* * *

"Both prisoners have awoken, my master," another of the three servants bowed.

"Perfect. The plans will begin soon. Everything is going perfectly," he grinned, showing his Snaggle-tooth. "Soon, Battousai will feel my wrath!"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Me no own Rurouni Kenshin.

**Author's Notes: **I am SO sorry that this took forever and then it became rather short. Don't worry, lots of Kenshin-torture in the next. . . LONG. . . chapter. And it will come sooner. I've just been so busy with this little thing called MY LIFE. Sorry! Please review everybody! Thank you so much!

By the way: Thank you for suggesting that I put this story into FHB's Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction Competition. I wish I could. However, judges cannot submit stories. Yeah. That's right. I'm a judge. And the Fanfiction is pretty much over so; if you wanted to get it, it's too late. Sorry. Thank you everybody!


	6. I Think We're Gonna Die

_**

* * *

Chapter Six

* * *

**_

_"You make the bloody rain fall."_

"NO!" I'm sure I would have sat up, but I was tightly bound to a table. I looked around the room. The kind guard was watching me cautiously. Nothing had changed. The room was as dull and blank as ever. _How long have I been here? _I faintly wondered. My stomach felt like it was twisted into several knots; my left arm and shoulder were practically on fire with pain; but I knew it wouldn't be long until they were completely numb.

I wasn't paying much attention when the door opened slightly, and someone was talking to the kind guard. I didn't even listen to what they were saying; I couldn't even if I wanted to. It sounded like they were far, far away. . .

"Wake up, Battousai!" - I shuddered at the cold water splashed onto my face. Dark cruel eyes grinned at me. "Good morning," _Gee, I wonder if that was sarcasm. . . _"We're going to do a few tests today, and boy, are they gonna be fun." He pulled out a rather sharp looking knife. "Normal pain wouldn't affect the Battousai, but what about. . .?"

Slowly, he hovered the knife above my bare left arm. _Bare? _I thought dimly. I didn't completely realize what was about to happen, but most definitely felt something as the knife skimmed across my left arm like a paper cut. I hissed; wide awake. Unfortunately, that was what the evil guard wanted to see. He cut again, slightly below the first cut. I turned my head away, biting my lower lip. Shots of pain went up and down the cut.

"Aw, does that hurt, Battousai?" he sneered.

"Shut up!" I barked before I could stop myself. I glared with narrow amber eyes at the evil guard. "Talking only makes you look stupider."

The evil guard's eyes widened, "Why you!" He cut my left arm again and again, until blood oozed freely onto the table. I cried out in pain, attempting to pull at the ropes that bound me to the table. It was over as soon as it began, and I breathed heavily with pain, "Well, Battousai, I hope you have learned a lesson!" The evil guard turned to the kind one, "No more water! And that's final." He walked out of the room.

* * *

"Kenshin." 

"Kenshin?"

"Kenshin!"

Yahiko prowled the dojo, "Why isn't he back yet? It's been. . ." he counted on his fingers, "It's been four days! Maybe he. . . naw, that can't be right. Sano's in love with Megumi!. . . .Right?" At that moment, he spotted Kaoru dusting the porch, "BUSU!" He ran up to her, "Hey, busu, why don't you help me look for Kenshin?"

Kaoru sniffed snobbishly, "Humph! Kenshin is a grown man, he can look after himself!"

"But he's been gone for five days!" Yahiko waved his arms, miscalculating (once again) how many days Kenshin had been gone. "We have to go look for him. Maybe he's been kidnapped! Or gotten into a fight! Or he could be. . . wandering."

Kaoru stiffened, "Kenshin is not wandering. He already said that he would never wander again."

Yahiko raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Humph!" Kaoru sniffed again. "Besides, I wouldn't care if he were sleeping in the woods! He deserves it for cheating on me with that slutty, sleazy, good for nothing, monkey brained woman!" She continued her dusting proudly.

Silence. "Does that mean. . ." Yahiko frowned, sticking out his tongue at the disgusting thought. "That you two were. . . you know. . . _together_?"

Kaoru paused, "Um. . . well. . ."

_"Kaoru, I love you."_

_"Oh Kenshin! What a beautiful ring! I love you, too!"_

_"Kaoru, will you marry me?"_

_"YES! Oh Kenshin, you don't know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that! I love you so much!. . . . . .Wow Kenshin, you're a really good kisser. . .K-Kenshin. . .Oh Kenshin! Y-You should stop. . I mean, we should wait! Kenshin?"_

"No Kenshin. . . you mustn't. . ." Kaoru lay sprawled on the porch, muttering something under her breath in that dreamy sort of way.

Yahiko sighed, "This is the fifth time this week."

Kaoru's hips started twitching. . .

"EWWW!"

* * *

I sneezed, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the pain in my left arm. I knew I was covered in blood, but there was nothing I could do about it. Blood loss made me feel dizzy, but there was nothing I could do about it. I still didn't know where Sanosuke was but there was NOTHING I COULD DO ABOUT IT! _Damn it all! This is not how I wanted it to happen!_

I sighed, _how did I get into this mess, again?_

_Oh yeah._

_I went gambling with Sanosuke.

* * *

_

"1034 bottles of sake on the wall, 1034 bottles of sake! Ya take one down, pass it around, 1032 bottles of sake! 1032 bottles of –"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?" One-eye shrieked. "Your stupid song is driving me crazy!"

Sanosuke paused, grinned, and, "-sake on the wall, 1032 bottles of sake! Ya take one down, pass it around, 1031 bottles of sake! 1031 bottles of-"

"I GIVE UP!" One-eye sat up and opened the door, "I GIVE UP! You are the biggest MORON on the planet, and I am NOT going to put up with you ANY LONGER! You are going to get a new guard! Stay here, and don't even THINK about moving!"

Sanosuke snickered, "Wouldn't dream of it."

One-eye glared at him, stuck out his tongue, and stormed away, closing the door behind him.

"Finally!" Sanosuke sighed and jumped down from his perch. His shackles clanged noisily and he turned around and said, "SHHHH!" They were quiet. "I can't believe it took 3969 bottles of sake on the wall to get him to go crazy. Or was it 3970?" he crept across the room to the door. It creeeaaaked open. "SHHHH!" Sanosuke glared at it. It was quiet.

He peered to the left. And then to the right. Nobody around. He frowned, muttering, "Only _slightly_ suspicious. But oh well." He sneaked down the left hallway. There were several doors to the right and left. Sanosuke came up to the first one and carefully slid it open, poking his nose in. An empty room, with nothing in it at all. Sanosuke closed the door and tip toed to the next one. He poked his nose inside. A man looked up at him from a cushion, "Hey! What are you-"

Sanosuke quickly closed the door. He looked around and laughed weakly, "Ahah. . . hahah. . ." he moved on to the next door. This time he was greeted with about a dozen half-naked girls, all purring and giggling on futons. Sanosuke grinned.

"Hey big boy," one girl called. "Why don't you come on in?"

Sanosuke was about to accept, but the thought of Kenshin stopped him, "Uh, sorry babe, maybe later." Because of the girl's pout, he took one step in, grabbed an ink brush and wrote on the girl's thigh. "That's my room number. See ya!" He closed the door. There was still nobody around. _Ooooodd. . ._Sanosuke walked down to the next door.

A man stood in front of the door, "Uh, nobody is allowed in here unless they know the password."

Sanosuke sighed, "Well, how do you know if I know the password or not?"

The man frowned, "Because you know that I don't know if you know the password."

"Yes, but nobody would know if I know the password, just as I don't know if you know that I know that you know the password which means that you don't know that I know the password when I do."

The man opened and closed his mouth several times. "Uh. . . well, I. . . you. . . just come in then." He opened the door all the way and Sanosuke stepped in. The room was blank, dark, and solemn. There was a table to the left and on top of the table was-

"Kenshin!" Sanosuke rushed to my side. Unfortunately, at the time, I had lost too much blood to be aware of a fly landing on my nose. "Kenshin, what have they done to you. . ." he glanced down at my left arm and growled. "They are going to pay for this!" He pushed away my bangs to reveal tightly shut eyes. "Kenshin, you have to wake up. Wake up!"

"He's not going to wake up, Sagara," came a voice.

Sanosuke turned around with a jolt, "You! You're that guy I gave a good kick to in the stomach!"

The evil guard's grin fell to the floor, "Yes. And that was a very unfair kick: I wasn't ready."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Sanosuke waved him away. "If you think we won't go down without a fight, you're wrong! No matter what happens, you're going to pay for everything you've done!"

The evil guard laughed, "Only you will fight, Sagara, and you will not succeed. The Battousai has already succumbed to his numbing body. There is no doubt in my mind that his brain will numb as well; if it already hasn't." His evil cackle began to disturb Sanosuke greatly, "There's nothing you can do except give in and die."

Sanosuke shook his head. "Why on earth would anybody want someone else to die in this day and age? Though I admit I wouldn't mind to watch you suffer," he added with a grin. "But just what is this grudge your 'master' has against Kenshin and me?"

"Only the biggest one ever," the evil guard sighed. "Look, it is far too complicated to explain to simple minded-"

"EXCUSE ME?"

"-big, fat, monkey!" he glared at Sanosuke. "Besides, there are too many grudges against Battousai to count."

Sanosuke snorted, "Gimmie one."

The evil guard ran a hand through his hair, "The time when Battousai knocked over our Master while running in the street."

"Uh huh. . ."

"Then there was the time when Battousai killed his pet bird while conducting a Ryu Sui Sen on several Shinsen-gumi."

"Yeah. . ."

"And there was also the time when Battousai stole the love of his life simply by glaring at the woman."

"Right. . ."

The evil guard huffed, "Anyway, there are far too many grudges to count. And that is why we have to kill you both."

Sanosuke shrugged, "What did I do?"

"You are Battousai's friend."

"Oh."

"Prepare to die!"

* * *

Yahiko looked up at the stars, "Uh, busu? Do you have the feeling that we're all gonna die?" 

"We all die eventually, Yahiko," Kaoru sighed, sewing one of Yahiko's tattered gi's.

"No, I mean right now."

Kaoru looked at him with a confused face, "What, do you see a comet falling from the sky? A dinosaur sneaking up to eat us? A tsunami bigger than the Eiffel Tower heading our way?"

Yahiko shook his head, "No. I mean, that food you cooked is making me feel like an alien is going to pop out of my stomach!"

"YAHIKO-CHAN!"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Get over it! 

**Author's Notes: **Hooray! I finally wrote chapter six! Plus, it's a bit longer than the last one. I hope that you liked it. Please let me know what you think and review. Thank you!

**SUPER BIG ANNOUNCEMENT**. Female Hitokiri Battousai's Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction Competition as been extended to the **31st of DECEMBER!** So, if you want your story in the comp: in your review, please leave your story **TITLE **and **GENRE**. This is a great opportunity for your writing to become known and seen by many! Plus, you might just win an award for your genre! _(including Romance, Drama, Humor, Action, Angst, Lemon, and Character POV) _So, leave your story title and genre in your review. Thank you!


	7. Time To Wake Up

**_Chapter Seven_**

* * *

"Prepare to die!"

_"Welcome home, Kenshin." _You make the bloody rain fall. _"I don't care about your past! All I care about is right now." _I thought we agreed not to speak of our past?_ "Oh Kenshin, where would we all be without you?" _He was my fiancé. _"Welcome home, Kenshin." _

Kaoru. _Maybe it's better that she was angry with me. That way, she won't mourn my death. My death? I'm going to die? Since when did I allow myself to fall prey to others? But I suppose it's better this way. I deserve a painful death. _

_My head hurts! _

_Why is Kaoru so angry with me? I wish she would understand my feelings for her. But the only way to explain everything to her is if I get out of here alive. Which won't happen. But why not? _

_I've always come out of everything alive; though once, I was only hanging on by a thread. _

_I have to survive this. I have to. For Kaoru. I have to make her understand that I. . . love her._

_I have to get out of here. _

_I have to._

I attempted to open my eyes, but the light was too fierce. I could hear my heart pounding in my head. Every little sound made me wince. I tried moving my head to the right or left, but found that I couldn't move at all. I groaned.

_Or maybe not._

Sanosuke glanced at my shallow breathing form, "Hold on, Kenshin." His attention was quickly brought back to the man attacking him with a knife. "Too slow!" he laughed, jumping to the left. He quickly set his footing and aimed a good punch at the evil guard. It was blocked, and sent the other way. Sanosuke stumbled to the other side of the room.

"Ha! You may be strong, Sagara. But not strong enough!" the evil guard smirked, ready to pounce upon the mouse, which was now Sanosuke. Sanosuke looked left. And then right. And then quickly ran behind the table I was laying on.

"How do I get this thing off of you," he muttered, fiddling around with the shackles around my wrists and ankles. The evil guard was laughing, chasing Sanosuke around and around the table. Each time Sanosuke came close to my ankles or wrists, he would pick at the shackles. Finally, they came off, and Sanosuke grinned, "It worked for me, it works again! Thank you, lucky hairclip!" The lucky hairclip said your welcome. Or, at least in Sanosuke's somewhat twisted world.

Quickly, he picked me up and ran out of the room. "HEY! Get back here, you coward!" the evil guard shrieked, running after us.

Sanosuke ran down hallway after hallway. A left turn here, a right turn there, a u-turn somewhere. "This place is like freaking maze!" Sanosuke growled, pausing at a four way cross. He looked down at me; I still couldn't move. _Kaoru. . ._ Sanosuke growled again, "Damn, it's almost been a week! If I don't get that antidote soon. . ." he took the left hallway.

The hallway slowly shifted into a staircase, which led to a door, which opened up to another staircase, which wound in circles around a tower, which didn't exist. Sanosuke ran up the stairs, until they suddenly stopped, and started going down again. He growled, but continued. "I feel like I'm running through the mind of whatever his name is; sick and twisted!"

Slowly, the staircase going down turn a 90-degree right and began to go up again, until there were no more stairs.

In fact, there was nothing.

"Oh god-blessed-oro!" Sanosuke cussed in midair, until he fell about ten feet into a fast flowing river. In his haste to breathe air, he let go of me. When he reached the top, gasping for air, he looked around. I was nowhere to be seen. Cussing again, he went back underwater and opened his eyes. Nothing. Swimming back up, Sanosuke found himself being pulled by the river.

Down the river he went, until he was suddenly on land. He stood up and looked around. "Kenshin?" It was dark. "Kenshin, if you can hear me, just. . . I dunno, DO SOMETHING!" He took a few wobbly steps forward. "Kenshin?" He lifted his leg and was about to put his foot upon the ground; but the ground had apparently run off.

"Ahh!" Sanosuke fell down and down and down, until THUMP. He blinked. Whatever he had landed on, it certainly soft. "Okay, this is starting to get old," Sanosuke sighed. He felt around on the ground because it was even darker than before. He felt an arm. It was attached to a hand. The hand had calluses on it. "Kenshin?"

But I didn't say anything, I was too lost in my own thoughts. _I have to get out of here. I have to go back to Kaoru._

Sanosuke still wasn't sure if he had landed on me, or not. So he felt for my hair. It was soft and long. "Kenshin, thank Kami-sama!" he sighed in relief. "How in the world did you get here?" He looked around in the darkness. "Where are we?"

"In a pit."

"Waa!" Sanosuke's eyes grew wider, as if that would help to see the person whom had just spoken. "Who are you?"

A light sprung from a match, and Sanosuke saw an old man with a long gray beard, "I am time."

Sanosuke's eyes closed half-way in annoyance, "Yeah right, and I'm the Easter bunny. Who are you really, and why are you here? Where _is _here?" He re-positioned me into a much more comfortable position; not that I could feel anything.

The old man smiled, "I told you. I am time. This is a pit. I am here to tell you to wake up."

"What?" Sanosuke asked. "Are you telling me that this isn't real?" He looked around again, "Not that that would surprise me but uh, how am I supposed to believe you? What's your proof?"

The smile was still on the old man's face, "Time does not need proof. It is simply there. You believe in time, don't you?" Sanosuke nodded. "Well, then that is settled." He looked down at my unconscious form with a frown, "Right now, this man does not believe in time. He is caught in a sphere of dreams. I have not placed him there, he has been sent there without my knowledge."

Sanosuke frowned, "So, how do we get him back out?"

The old man shrugged and Sanosuke nearly fainted. "There is a way, but I'm sure he would not agree with it," the old man whispered, as if I could hear him.

"Tell me," Sanosuke urged.

"Well, I can pull him back out of his sphere of dreams, but it will cost him. His dreams will be colorful, and beautiful. But the way he will see the world, compared to his dreams I pulled him out of will seem. . . black and white." The old man stared deeply into Sanosuke eyes, "In other words, he will be in the real world, but he will see the real world as a dull world."

Sanosuke looked down at me, "But the antidote?"

The old man nodded, "If you can get the antidote in time, he will be back to normal. But if you don't get the antidote in time, he will die. It's your choice."

"My choice!" Sanosuke cried. "Why is all of this my choice?"

"Because," the old man stated. "You are the one who got him into this. You must get him out."

Sanosuke swallowed, "I. . . how much time do I have?"

The old man smiled, and said, "Until three o-clock." He slowly turned into a grandfather clock. It read 2:00, and ticking.

"A hour!" Sanosuke cried. He looked back down at me, "For Kenshin, I'll run my fastest."

The grandfather clock's face turned into the face of the old man, "**Wake up!**"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. Or Battousai, for that matter.

**Author's Notes: **Here I am again! I hope this chapter was fun and confusing. Sorry it's a bit short. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I'm not promising anything. Um, I know you're all really confused right now. But don't worry, it gets better. Plus, if you're wondering how we know what Sanosuke is doing if Kenshin, whom point of view this story is in, is unconscious, then keep wondering. Don't worry, it's not a mistake. I've done this on purpose. Please also keep in mind that this story is rather cheesy, it's meant to be that way. Please review minna-sama! Thank you!


	8. Worth The Risk

_**Chapter Eight**_

* * *

"Okay, now hold on!" 

"Yahiko!" Kaoru snapped, glaring at the impudent boy. She pulled the blanket closer to herself, and spoke softer, "Don't interrupt the story."

Yahiko gave her a look, and crossed his arms, "You have got to be kidding me. This is the worst scary story I have ever heard! Its not even scary!"

Ayame and Suzume clutched each other tightly. "Its scary!" they wailed. Dr. Genzai comforted them quietly as Yahiko rolled his eyes.

"Now, now," Kenshin smiled patiently. "It is a scary story, Yahiko. You just aren't taking it seriously enough."

"Geesh," Sanosuke drawled, leaning back. "Scary stories are never good enough for little kids. You should know that, Kenshin."

"Are you calling me a little kid?" Yahiko growled.

Megumi sighed, "Can we get back to the story now?"

"Yeah, Yahiko. How do you know its not real?" Sanosuke pointed out.

"Yeah, be quiet Yahiko," Kaoru frowned. The boy stuck out his tongue, but remained silent. Kaoru turned to Kenshin, "Go on, Kenshin."

Kenshin smiled, "Of course. Now. . ._where was I?_"

* * *

The pit seemed to disappear, and Sanosuke ran as fast as he could, with my unconscious form over his shoulder. "Hold on tight, there, buddy," Sanosuke muttered through clenched teeth. A light seemed to be far away from us, but Sanosuke simply ran faster, his long legs stretching as far as they could. The light came closer and closer, until we were suddenly back in the long hallway of our prison. 

Sano growled, "No, not this place again!" He paced for a few moments, until he noticed something peculiar. There were no doors, and the hallway didn't come from anywhere, or go anywhere. There were simply blank walls. "What the. . ." he stared at the walls. They didn't budge.

I moaned quietly.

"Hold on, Kenshin," Sanosuke told me. He walked to one side of the hallway and all the way to the blank wall. With me still hanging over his shoulder, Sanosuke kicked down the wall with his right leg. The wall gave way, revealing weak cardboard. Behind the wall was a normal room surrounded by rice-paper shoji walls. There was nice furniture and plants. Sanosuke shook his head. "Crazy."

He stepped into the room and found the door. He slid it open, only to reveal a room very much like the first. He looked up, "God, if you're up there, would you please explain to me why you made such CRAZY people?!"

Laughter echoed through the room, "Starting to drive you mad, isn't it?" The voice seemed to come from everywhere.

"I've got to get that poison!" Sanosuke yelled. "I need to know what poison you infected him with!"

"Tough luck."

Sanosuke sighed, "Please?"

There was a pause. "Oh . . . . alright."

* * *

"Okay, now hold on!" 

"YAHIKO!" they all shouted.

He just threw up his hands, "Why would the bad guy just flat out tell Sano the poison he had used? It's just too easy!"

Kenshin shook his head, "You didn't let me finish."

* * *

Sanosuke frowned, "Really?" 

"NO! Of course not! What do you think I am, a moron?" the voice shouted and laughed uproariously.

"It's not funny!" Sanosuke shouted. His frustration had jumped leaps and bounds. He looked down, disheartened, "Shit. I don't know what poison Kenshin was infected with, I only have a little time left, and I don't even know where the hell I am!" He gently put me on the floor and punched the air several times. "I just don't know what to do."

"Sano. .s-suke!" I frowned in my sleep.

He looked down at me, eyes wide, "Kenshin! Kenshin! Can you hear me?" He didn't get a reply, but the simple sound of his name had renewed his strength and courage! He stood up, and put me over his shoulder once more. Yelling a battle charge cry, he ran from room to room. Every time he opened a door, it only revealed a new room exactly the same as the last. Despite this, Sanosuke ran through at least six doors.

He paused, breathing heavily. He rested a hand on his knee, "How many of these rooms are there?"

The voice seemed amused, "If you can't go any farther, I'll provide you with a little something. Its on the table."

"Huh?" Sanosuke glanced at the table. A knife. He growled, "No! I . . . I couldn't. No. . ." He fell to one knee; my weight was making his shoulder very sore and tired. Sanosuke took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Even though he was disheartened, even though he had nearly given up all hope, there was an image in his mind. He frowned, and looked closer at the imaginary image.

It was Kaoru. Crying.

"Jou-chan, it's all my fault," Sanosuke sighed. He looked up at the door in front of him. He took in another deep breath. "Would it kill me to go into one more room?" he could hear something ticking. A clock. A race against the clock. A race against time. "Stupid old man," grinding his teeth, he pushed himself back up.

"Wait, you're not seriously considering going into the next room, are you?" the voice asked. "It's just going to be another room, exactly the same."

Sanosuke shook his head, "No. I can feel it. This one's different."

"Are you kidding?" the voice asked, sounding surprised. "You should just give up. Give up hope and faith."

"No," Sanosuke took a step forward. "I can't."

"Wait! You. . You can't go on. You can't open the next door, because you know it will simply be the same thing. You might as well just give up!" the voice sounded panicked.

Sanosuke took a few steps more, and leaned over to slide the door.

"No! You can't go out that door! You have to give up!"

Sanosuke grinned, ironically, "Tough luck." He opened the door to reveal a completely different room. It was a cold, damp room with a single table in the center. On the other side of the room was a door. Above the door were the words, EXIT. But the table interested Sanosuke even more. On the table was a small vile. He grabbed it and looked carefully at the label. With a grin, he pocketed the vile and ran to the exit door. He opened it and was immediately met with a rush of wind. Sanosuke stepped out and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

And then he turned around.

Almost nothing was behind him. Only rubble. Stones and rotten pieces of wood. Sanosuke's jaw fell. He took a few steps backwards. He glanced to his right, where a sign was buried halfway into the ground. It stood leaning slightly to the right. Sanosuke jumped to it and read the nearly scratched out words. **The Aku-gumi.** Sanosuke gasped at such a sight. He shook his head and stared at the rubble.

Suddenly, he remembered me still lying across his shoulder. "Oh crap!" and he ran as fast as he could. We weren't far from the town, but far enough to make Sanosuke's worry increase to 100. He had very little time left. His long legs stretched past breaking point; the hot sun beat down upon his neck, his red ribbon waved wildly behind him.

He ran across the bridge, past the thrift shops, around the market, beyond several large estates and straight for the clinic. He finally reached it, and broke down the door. Megumi screamed from inside. She saw him, all muscle and sweat, and smiled with fox ears popping from her head, "That's my man."

Sanosuke pulled out the vile from his pocket and threw it to Megumi. Her eyebrows rose at the sight of the name, and she ran into the other room. Sanosuke set me down upon the patient's bed. He huffed heavily with a small smile, "You're gonna make it, buddy. You're gonna make it."

Megumi ran back in with a tiny glass. She lifted my head and poured the contents of the antidote down my throat. I was so numb, I gave no complaint. When she was finished, Megumi let out a long sigh. She glanced at Sanosuke, "Where the hell have you been?"

"I have no idea," Sanosuke shrugged. And then he fell to his knees. "There was a building, and an old man, and an endless hallway," he muttered, closing his eyes. Megumi quickly ran to get a glass of water. "When we got out, it was only rubble. Like it hadn't been there for years. The Aku-gumi. . ." he took the water from Megumi and gulped it down greedily.

Megumi frowned, "The Aku-gumi? I thought they were just a silly made up story from the Bakumatsu."

Sanosuke shook his head, "I really don't care right now." And then he fell to the floor, fast asleep.

"Sano?" Megumi asked. She panicked. "Neither of you have had nutrition for days! Dr. Genzai!"

* * *

I woke to the faint murmur of voices. I frowned and carefully opened my eyes. My sight was blurred for a moment, until it re-adjusted. A white face and black hair looked down at me. Her black eyes met my own. Her smile warmed my bones, heart and soul. _My Kaoru._ I opened my mouth to speak, but she pressed a finger to my lips. 

"Rest, Kenshin. Sanosuke explained everything," her soft voice sounded like a melody.

I stared into her eyes, and frowned. They were black. I looked around; everything was black or white. There was no color. For the first time, I noticed her hand holding my own. She held onto me tighter. Despite the odd sight of black and white, comfort wrapped around me like a warm blanket, and I closed my eyes.

The next time I woke up, she wasn't there. I blinked, and held up my hand to look at it carefully. There was no color. No skin pigment. But my arm felt strong. I sat up and looked around. The whole room was colorless. Black and white. Nobody was around. I frowned, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Kenshin?" Sanosuke opened the door and smiled when he saw me. "Hey! You've been sleeping for days!"

I smiled back, strained, "Sanosuke?"

His smile fell, "Kenshin, what's wrong?"

"I-" I looked down. "I feel fine, my arm is fine, but-"

"Kenshin, I know," Sanosuke looked down as I looked up. "I'm sorry. I had to trade your sight for your life. You will be color-blind for the rest of your life."

I was shocked speechless.

Sanosuke watched me carefully, "I told Megumi. She'll tell everyone that it's a side-effect of the poison." He shifted from foot to foot, "Are you ready to see everyone?"

To shocked to say anything, I simply nodded.

He left the room. A few minutes later, he re-entered with Megumi, Dr. Genzai, Yahiko and Kaoru. _My Kaoru._ They walked in unsteadily and nervous. I gulped at the sight of their colorless faces. Shivering slightly, I met the eyes of Kaoru, my Kaoru. She read my mind and walked up to the bed. I looked down and took her hand. As everyone watched, I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles and fingers.

There were tears rolling down her face.

"What happened?" I asked Sanosuke, finally finding my voice.

He looked grim, "We don't really know. When I finally got out, there was nothing there but a pile of rubble. Does the name Aku-gumi ring any bells?"

I looked at him square in the eyes, "Aku-gumi? A made up group meant to scare naughty children during the Bakumatsu so that they wouldn't go out of doors at night." I looked down, "They were supposedly blood thirsty murderers who didn't care who they were killing. Parents would tell children that the Aku-gumi had a grudge against them according to whatever the naughty child had done in the past."

Sanosuke whistled, "I went back to where I thought the rubble was, but it wasn't there. I haven't been able to find it. Pretty scary."

"Yes," I agreed. "So, I guess we'll never really know what happened, will we?"

Everyone nodded slowly and quietly.

I took in a deep breath and whispered, "It was real, though. It was real."

Kaoru comforted my scarred cheek. She smiled, "Kenshin, why didn't you tell me about Sanosuke cross-dressing?"

I nearly choked, "Oro! Kaoru-dono. . . I-I-"

"Well, I guess he's back to normal," Megumi chuckled.

"Almost," I recovered. A smirk found my lips, "But not quite the same." And then I kissed Kaoru, my Kaoru, with all my heart. Nothing would be the same. Everything had to change at one point or another. Every good thing must come to an end, to make room for another good thing. Once a window closes, a door opens. I kissed her to prove that.

* * *

"Wow. That was quite possibly the most cheesy and rushed ending I have ever heard." 

"Yahiko! Why are you such a brat?" Kaoru berated him, while Kenshin simply smiled.

Yahiko just rolled his eyes. "That wasn't scary at all. I'm going to bed now," he got up from the circle they had created in the middle of the dojo floor and walked towards the hallway. The group at the circle watched him walk away.

"Don't have any nightmares, Yahiko!" Sanosuke called, laughing.

"Sano!" Megumi scolded him. She shook her head, and then rested it against Sano's shoulder. He smiled and rested his head upon her's.

Dr. Genzai stood up slowly, "Well, I better get these little ones home." He chuckled at the sight of the girls sleeping. He bent over and nudged their shoulders, "Come on girls. Time to go home. Say bye bye." They obeyed and did so. Everyone else responded accordingly, and watched as the doctor and little girls walked out of the dojo. Everything was quiet for a few moments.

Kaoru shifted against Kenshin's warm body. She sighed, "We better go to bed. It's very late." She stood up and wrapped the blanket around herself tighter. She smiled down at Kenshin. "Coming?" she asked.

He nodded, "I'll be there in a minute." He watched her walk away. His eyes shifted to where Megumi stood up.

"Goodnight Kenshin. I'll be in bed, Sano," she walked dreamily away.

Only Kenshin and Sanosuke were left on the dojo floor. Sanosuke grinned, "Good job, buddy."

"Well," Kenshin drawled. "If I had told them the truth, none of them would have believed me anyway." He stood up with the candle in hand, and stared down at its colorless flame. "Its best that they didn't know the truth." He looked up at Sanosuke's strong eyes.

Sano looked back, "Kenshin, I know I've said it a million times, but. . . I'm sorry."

"No, Sano," Kenshin smiled softly. "If you hadn't done what you did, I don't think I would have had the courage to kiss Kaoru. None of this would ever have been," he looked down at the ring on his finger Sano had told him was gold. And then he looked back up to Sano's eyes, "Thank you."

Sanosuke grinned, "I told you. A little gambling in life is worth the risk."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. 

**Author's Notes: **OH MY GOD! It's over. And only two years have passed. LOL. Wow, I AM SO SORRY it took so long to finish this thing. I got SO stuck in the hell called writer's block. I'm pretty happy with the ending though. I hope you all liked it, too (if you guys are still alive, and still love me [cries ). So that's it. That's the end. I just want to thank you all for waiting and reading and reviewing. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Please review and tell me what you think of the ending. Cheers!


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